(WASHINGTON) — Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday that he’ll use a Senate procedure that allows home state senators to object to judicial nominees to attempt to block President Donald Trump’s picks for two keep prosecutor positions: the U.S. Attorneys for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
The blue slip process, which has long been honored by the Senate Judiciary Committee, asks for the signoff of home-state senators before proceeding with nominations for U.S. Attorney positions.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, is refusing to return his blue slip for the nominations of Jay Clayton to be the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and Joseph Nocella Jr. to be the lead prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York.
“Donald Trump has made clear he has no fidelity to the law and intends to use the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies,” Schumer said in a statement. “Such blatant and depraved political motivations are deeply corrosive to the rule of law and leaves me deeply skeptical of the Donald Trump’s intentions for these important positions. For that reason, I will not return the blue slip for the U.S. Attorney nominees for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.”
This blue slip tradition in the Senate is just that: a tradition, not a law.
It will be up to Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley whether he ultimately honors this blue slip process in this case.
“The Judiciary Committee has long honored the traditional blue slip process for U.S. Attorney nominees,” a spokesperson for Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told ABC News when reached for comment on Schumer’s intention not to return his blue slip on the two New York U.S. attorneys.
Grassley recently told the New York Times he would honor the right of Senators to refuse return of their blue slips.
“The answer is yes,” Grassley said when asked whether he would honor the blue slip position of senators. “If they are from the state the nomination comes from.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi ; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has filed suit against Maine in an effort to challenge the state’s policy regarding transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday.
The lawsuit alleges Maine’s policy violates Title IX and stems from a broader effort by the Trump administration to spotlight an issue that they see as politically damaging for Democrats.
“The State of Maine, through its Department of Education, is openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designated exclusively for girls,” the lawsuit said. “By prioritizing gender identity over biological reality, Maine’s policies deprive girl athletes of fair competition, deny them equal athletic opportunities, and expose them to heightened risks of physical injury and psychological harm.”
Bondi announced the lawsuit alongside anti-trans activist Riley Gaines and other parents and students from Maine who have objected to the state’s policies regarding transgender athletes.
“The Department of Justice will not sit by when women are discriminated against in sports. This is about sports. This is also about these young women’s personal safety,” Bondi said in remarks at DOJ. “I met many of these women throughout the past weeks and months, and what they have been through is horrific.”
The lawsuit is likely just the first in a series of legal challenges brought by the Trump administration, after Bondi previously sent warning letters in February to state officials in Maine, California and Minnesota ordering them to “comply with federal anti-discrimination laws that require them to keep men out of women’s sports.”
Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has blasted the Trump administration’s efforts to strip federal funding from Maine as executive overreach.
“For decades — first as a District Attorney, as Attorney General, and now as Governor — I have fought tirelessly for the rights of women and girls, for the health and well-being of children and families, and defending the Constitution of Maine and the Constitution of the United States,” Mills responded in a statement Wednesday. “My Administration and Maine’s Attorney General will vigorously defend our state against the action announced today from the Department of Justice,” she said.
Earlier, she downplayed the issue of transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sporting events.
“Because there are two, maybe two, trans athletes competing in Maine schools right now, they decided to shut off funding for the school nutrition program, the school lunch program, entirely,” Mills said in an interview this week on CBS affiliate WGME. “The law says if you don’t like what a state is doing over here, you can’t just take the funds away over here.”
In February, meeting with the nation’s governors at the White House, Trump discussed his executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports and asked Mills directly, “Are you not going to comply with that?”
She responded that she would comply with state and federal laws.
“Well, I’m — we are the federal law,” Trump said, adding, “Well, you better do it. You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
Mills responded: “See you in court.”
“Good,” Trump replied. “I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be an easy one. And enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
(COBB COUNTY, GA) — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies in the House, faced several protesters who were removed by police for disrupting her town hall on Tuesday.
Police said at least six attendees were escorted out without incident, while three others were arrested — two of whom were stunned with a Taser during their removal.
The event was held at the Acworth Community Center in Greene’s home state of Georgia on Tuesday, with disruptions breaking out almost immediately after the congresswoman took the stage.
“Well, welcome everyone,” Greene said, kicking off the meeting as police removed at least three protesters. “Thank you, Thank you to our great police officers… This is not a political rally. This is not a protest. If you stand up and want to protest, if you want to shout and chant, we will have you removed, just like that man was thrown out.”
At one point, a man was tased for not cooperating with police as they tried to escort him out for interrupting the meeting.
“This is a peaceful town hall. Now this is a peaceful town hall, ladies and gentlemen, this should not have to happen,” the Greene said in response.
While speaking at the town hall, Greene accused the media of “trying to defend an illegal alien that is a member of MS-13 that was deported to his home country, El Salvador. That is shameful and that should never happen,” she said, referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who ICE officials have said was sent to El Salvador by error in March.
Following this, another protester was removed from Greene’s event.
“Bye,” Greene said. “Just like that illegal alien,” she said, despite Abrego Garcia’s legal status.
Outside of the disruptions, Rep. Greene did receive continuous support from the audience, which had about 80 people in attendance. Outside the venue, protesters lined up on the street.
Following the rally, Greene told reporters the protesters were “out of line,” saying there was a place designated outside of the venue for the protesters “because we support their First Amendment right.”
(WASHINGTON) — In the nearly three months since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, lawyers challenging his actions in court have alleged that his administration has violated court orders on a half dozen occasions, according to court records reviewed by ABC News.
From unilaterally freezing federal funding to the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport noncitizens, the clashes have raised concerns about the separation of powers and the potential for a constitutional crisis.
Plaintiffs suing the Trump administration have alleged the government violated or ignored court orders on at least six different occasions, but no judge so far has held a member of the Trump administration in contempt of court. On at least four occasions, judges have expressed concerns about the Trump administration’s compliance with court orders.
Lawyers with the Justice Department have vigorously defended the actions of the Trump administration and argued that federal officials have strictly complied with lawful court orders, while also questioning the legality of some orders. Each of the cases are ongoing or being appealed, so the district court orders may be vacated as higher courts weigh in.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to respect a court order even if a judge rules against parts of his agenda, though he has attempted to cast doubt on the authority of some judges.
“Well, I always abide by the courts and then I’ll have to appeal it,” Trump told ABC’s Rachel Scott in February, referencing cases involving Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. In those cases, Trump suggested a judge’s order “slowed down the momentum, and it gives crooked people more time to cover up the books. You know, if a person’s crooked and they get caught, other people see that and all of a sudden it becomes harder later on.”
The Trump Administration now faces arguably its most high-profile legal battle, as it attempts to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in Salvadoran custody despite the Supreme Court ordering his administration to facilitate his release.
Using the Alien Enemies Act to remove alleged members of Tren de Aragua
Last month, the Trump administration removed more than 100 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to a Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act despite a federal judge ordering they be returned to the U.S.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a directive that two planes carrying the men to El Salvador be returned to the United States on March 15. Despite both planes still being in the air at the time of the order, the planes landed in Honduras before flying to El Salvador.
Lawyers representing the Venezuelan men have argued that the Trump administration violated the court order, and Judge James Boasberg remarked that the government “acted in bad faith” when it rushed the deportation flights.
The Supreme Court vacated his order blocking any future removals under the Alien Enemies Act because the plaintiffs lacked jurisdiction to bring a case in D.C. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, Judge Boasberg was considering beginning contempt proceedings.
Trump defended his use of the Alien Enemies Act – telling reporters last month that he has the authority to remove noncitizens under the law – and has repeatedly criticized Judge Boasberg for blocking the removals.
“[Secretary of State Marco Rubio has] the authority to get bad people out of our country. And you can’t stop that with a judge sitting behind a bench that has no idea what goes on, who happens to be a radical left lunatic,” Trump told ABC’s Karen Travers.
Removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
After the Trump administration acknowledged it had deported a Salvadoran native who was living in Maryland under protected legal status due to an “administrative error,” a federal judge ordered the government to facilitate his return to the United States.
After the Trump administration appealed the decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Judge Paula Xinis “properly” required that the U.S. facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from Salvadoran custody; however, the high court ordered Judge Xinis determine what “deference” Trump is owed related to his conduct of foreign affairs.
Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Trump administration has doubled down on its allegation that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 — without providing any evidence — and claimed it lacks the authority to return him to the U.S. During a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele told reporters that he lacks the power to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
“The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele said.
Benjamin Osorio, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, told ABC News that he believes the Trump administration is defying the court’s order and that a contempt order might be the only thing to prompt the U.S. government to return his client from El Salvador.
Before his meeting with Bukele, Trump told reporters that he would respect an order from the Supreme Court to return Abrego Garcia.
“If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,” Trump said.
Removal of migrants to third countries
During a hearing last week, a federal judge gave lawyers with the Justice Department two weeks to provide more information about three recent removals of noncitizens to El Salvador that took place two days after he issued a temporary order blocking similar deportations to countries other than their place of origin without a hearing to raise concerns about their safety.
Judge Brian Murphy described the “potential violations of the temporary restraining order” as “concerning” and set an April 28 hearing to learn more about the deportations.
“This is something that is concerning to me,” Judge Murphy said. “I do think it’s something that we need to address.”
Lawyers with the Justice Department agreed to provide more information about the removals and defended the administration’s conduct.
Judge Murphy is considering extending his court order that prevents the Trump administration from removing noncitizens to countries other than their place of origin without allowing the noncitizens to raise concerns about their safety.
Two days after Judge Murphy temporarily blocked the deportations, the Trump administration announced that it had removed 17 alleged members of Tren de Aragua and MS-13 to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. According to the plaintiffs, some of the men on those flights had final orders of removal to Venezuela and were never given the right to challenge their removal to El Salvador.
Unilaterally freezing funding to states
In February, U.S. District Judge John McConnell said that a group of state attorneys general presented evidence that the Trump administration “continued to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds” to states despite a “clear and unambiguous” order barring them from blocking the funding.
He ordered the government to “immediately restore frozen funding” though the state attorneys general later provided evidence that the Trump administration continued to pause funding from FEMA. Many of the funding streams were restored in the months following Judge McConnell’s order.
Lawyers representing the Trump administration have argued the limiting of funds was a lawful way to identify and limit alleged fraud.
Blocking FEMA grants
Two months after Judge McConnell ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze funding to states, he determined that the government “covertly” paused millions of dollars in FEMA funding in direct violation of a court order.
Judge McConnell ordered the Trump Administration to “immediately cease” its efforts to impede the disbursement of federal funds, finding the government directly violated his order.
Last month, a coalition of 22 attorneys general asked Judge McConnell to stop the freeze after they presented evidence that FEMA continued to restrict more than 215 federal grants despite a court order blocking Trump’s unilateral funding freeze.
Lawyers with the DOJ pushed back on the request, arguing that FEMA was “merely implementing a manual review process” of each grant.
Judge McConnell disagreed, finding that the states presented “undisputed evidence” that FEMA “essentially [imposed] an indefinite categorical pause on payments” in direct violation of his preliminary injunction. He said the manual review process cited by the Trump administration “violates” a preliminary injunction issued in the case.
Freezing billions in foreign aid
A federal judge in February determined that the Trump administration was improperly withholding nearly $2 billion in foreign aid despite an order to restore the funding.
U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali blocked the Trump administration from imposing a blanket freeze on funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, yet the freeze continued for weeks, according to lawyers representing the foreign aid nonprofits. Lawyers representing the Trump administration have argued the funding freeze was necessary to identify and block potential fraud.
In an order, Judge Ali wrote that the Trump administration justified the freeze by advancing “an unbridled view of Executive power that the Supreme Court has consistently rejected—a view that flouts multiple statutes.”
After the Trump administration appealed the order, a divided U.S. Supreme Court denied the request to block the order, though the justices ordered the lower court to clarify its original order.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Joe Biden in one of his first public speeches since leaving the White House offered a full-throated rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to cut Social Security on Tuesday, calling the amount of damage the White House has inflicted on the program “breathtaking” and “devastating,” — a sharp departure from his efforts while in office to protect it and “make it stronger.”
“Well, look what’s happening. In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much … done so much damage, and so much, it’s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon,” Biden said.
Biden avoiding saying his successor’s name. In his nearly 30-minute remarks, the 82-year-old often sounded hushed, with several distinct outbursts in defense of Social Security and its recipients. His only indirect mention of President Donald Trump was to call him “this guy.”
Biden was introduced by former Maryland Gov. and Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley in front of roughly 180 attendees at the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled conference in Chicago.
“I will not go further and get in trouble …” Biden said wearily early in his speech, as he pivoted then from highlighting his own accomplishments as president to uplift Social Security to rebuking the current White House’s cuts.
“Last time this guy had the job, he raised the debt ceiling because of an enormous and profligate tax cut to the super wealthy,” Biden said later.
“They wanted to cut Social Security,” Biden added, calling out Republican members of Congress. “Not on my watch. We refused to go along with any of that,” he said.
Later in the former president’s remarks, he threw out any hesitancy to critique the current administration, even saying Trump voters in the 2024 election had “no heart.”
“What makes us distinct from the rest of the world? Basic, in my view, fundamental American values. Nobody’s king,” Biden said, again referencing Trump.
“You can’t go on like this, as a divided nation, as divided as we are, like I said, I’ve been doing this a long time. It’s never been this divided. Granted, it’s just 30 percent, but it’s a 30 percent that has no heart.”
He also warned of additional cuts to Social Security.
“They’ve taken a hatchet in Social Security, pushing additional 7,000 employees, 7,000 out the door in that time, including the most seasoned career officials. Now they’re getting ready to push something more out the door.”
Biden also hit directly at Trump’s Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and his senior adviser Elon Musk.
“Based on [Lutnick’s] comments, he doesn’t seem to even care. You saw what he said the other day. By the way, he’s a billionaire … He said his 94-year-old mother-in-law wouldn’t complain, wouldn’t bother her. Probably lovely woman. No kidding…. her son-in-law is a billionaire. What about that 94-year-old mother living all by herself?
“Folks, it’s not just the Secretary of Commerce, where we heard how others, empowered and emboldened by this administration, talk about Social Security, one of them called it a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ A Ponzi scheme — what the hell are they talking about?” Biden said, referring to Musk.
Biden suggested that the White House’s moves were based on the tech industry adage of “move fast and break things.”
He also asserted that this Congress would move to cut the program through the Republican funding package that would make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent.
“These guys are willing to hurt the middle class, working class, in order to deliver significant, greater wealth to the already very wealthy,” he said. “Who in the hell do they think they are? I really think they — I mean just basic, basic decency. Who do think they are?”
Biden’s speech came as Democratic congressional leaders billed Tuesday as a “Day of Action” focused on Social Security.
“Across the country, Democrats are leading the fight to oppose the Republican plan to gut Social Security. Our Save Social Security Day of Action will mobilize Americans from every corner of the United States to push back on Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE’s cuts to Social Security,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement.
“Republicans want to slash this critical lifeline by making it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to access their earned benefits. Shutting down local offices, firing large numbers of experienced constituent service workers and cutting phone services makes it harder for people to get their checks. Republicans are trying to kill Social Security from the inside — it is a cut by another name — and we won’t let that happen.”
The Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed drug trafficking charges against the two leaders of the Mexican drug cartel La Nueva Familia Michoacana Organization (LNFM) and offered up to $8 million for information leading to their arrest.
Brothers Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, are “responsible for the cartel’s resurgence” over the past decade, according to a DOJ official.
“These brothers were charged by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia with various crimes related to the manufacture, distribution and importation of massive quantities of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States,” Michael Herskowitz, chief of the Narcotics Section at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Atlanta, said at a press conference Tuesday.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned the brothers, and the State Department has offered $3 and $5 million rewards for information leading to their arrest. The men are currently in Mexico, officials said.
“It is our hope that these multimillion dollar rewards will encourage people to come forward with what they know about their Olascoaga brothers, both here in the United States and in cities and towns in Mexico, who are most impacted by the cartels violence,” Herskowitz said.
DEA Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae Chong told reporters that the foreign terrorist organization designation that the Trump administration has leveled against the cartels has “allowed law enforcement to apply enhanced counterterrorism authorities to drug cartel operations, something we believe that will have a greater impact in the fight to protect our communities.”
“In 24 hours, DEA and our partners have seized over 100 pounds of fentanyl, $320,000 of suspected drug proceeds, guns, and made 22 arrests, 11 of which are illegal criminals,” Chong said.
The fentanyl they seized was enough to kill 3.5 million people, according to Chong.
In a separate indictment, the Justice Department also charged seven individuals with allegedly funneling the proceeds of the cartel’s activity through a business in Georgia.
Agents “analyzed the money service businesses transactions and determined that the cash was wired to Mexico, but was transferred in small increments, as did not raise suspicion by federal regulators during an approximate period of two months, these individuals allegedly laundered over $1 million in drug proceeds smuggled to Mexico,” Herskowitz said.
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrants it alleges are MS-13 gang members — calling them “terrorists” — to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison.
Could American citizens convicted of violent crimes be next?
“If it’s a homegrown criminal, I have no problem,” President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday during his meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
“If we can do that, that’s good. And I’m talking about violent people. I’m talking about really bad people. Really bad people. Every bit as bad as the ones coming in.”
Before reporters entered the room, Trump even suggested to Bukele he should build more prisons because the mega-prison isn’t “big enough” to hold “the homegrowns” he wants to send from the U.S.
“We’re studying the laws right now,” Trump said, after earlier saying they “always have to obey the law.”
He made a similar comment about sending Americans to foreign prisons in February, saying back then as well that the laws would be need to be checked.
Several legal experts told ABC News any such scenario would be unconstitutional.
“I don’t think that any president who understands the rule of law or who respects the constitutional democracy that we live in would even think in these terms,” said David Leopold, an attorney and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
“The United States is the home of United States citizens. And citizens cannot be deported, period,” Leopold said.
“There are numerous constitutional provisions that bar the president and the attorney general from sending American criminals to prisons in other nations,” said Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina.
Several administration officials have been pressed to elaborate on what legal grounds they believe would allow them to do this. So far, they’ve sidestepped.
“Well, Jesse, these are Americans who he is saying who have committed the most heinous crimes in our country. And crime is going to decrease dramatically because he has given us a directive to make America safe again,” Attorney General Pam Bondi, who Trump specifically said was looking into the issue, told Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Monday night.
“These people need to be locked up as long as they can, as long as the law allows. We’re not going to let them go anywhere. And if we have to build more prisons in our country, we will do it,” Bondi said, notably mentioning sending Americans to prisons in the U.S.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked on Tuesday if deporting American citizens to Central American prisons is legal or if the administration would have to change the law.
“Well, it’s another question that the president has raised,” Leavitt responded. “It’s a legal question that the president is looking into.”
Trump and other officials said they’d deport American criminals who commit “egregious” crimes. Trump on Monday cited criminals who “push people into subways” or “hit elderly ladies on the back of the head.”
“Of course, we have the right as a government to incarcerate people who are a danger to society, even to execute people who are danger to society, but they’re Americans, they remain here. That’s the baseline right of citizenship, and always has been,” said Amanda Frost, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Any effort to deport an American citizen to a prison in El Salvador (its CECOT prison has been criticized for alleged human rights abuses) or elsewhere would likely be a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, Frost said.
One potential loophole could be for the Trump administration to try to target naturalized U.S. citizens, who can lose their immigration status if they’ve committed treason or falsified information during their naturalization process. But those instances are rare.
“If someone’s a naturalized citizen, there could be an effort to denaturalize that person and deport them,” Frost said. “But then it would have to be that they committed some sort of fraud or error in their naturalization process. An unrelated crime could not be the basis for denaturalizing and deporting somebody.”
Still, experts were alarmed by Trump’s comments on wanting to send American citizens to foreign prisons — especially as the legal battle regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia continues to play out.
The Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. and say he was deported illegally. Bondi on Monday said it was “up to El Salvador” to return him, and Salvadoran President Bukele said he wouldn’t do so.
“That is chilling,” Frost said, “because if that’s their view, then assuming they can manage to get people out of the country, they could then throw up their hands and say, ‘We can do nothing about it.'”
ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott on Tuesday asked Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan if he believed it was illegal for Trump to send Americans to an El Salvador prison. Homan said he hasn’t talked to the president yet.
“The notion is just so absurd,” Leopold, the former president of American Immigration Lawyers Association, said. “If it wasn’t so terrifying that a sitting president of the United States so loosely uses rhetoric about deporting United States citizens, it would be laughable.”
Abrego Garcia is being held at CECOT after being wrongfully deported by the Trump administration last month. Trump and other officials claim he is a MS-13 gang member, though the administration has provided little evidence of that in court.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Barack Obama in a statement late Monday praised Harvard University for rejecting President Donald Trump’s demands as the university faces a funding freeze for alleged inaction on antisemitism.
“Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect,” Obama posted on X. “Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.”
Obama’s remark came after Harvard University said on Monday it was refusing to comply with a series of demands from the Trump administration. On Monday evening, the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced a multibillion-dollar freeze on funding to the university. (Harvard University has said it is committed to fighting antisemitism and to making changes to create a welcoming environment.)
Obama, an alumnus of Harvard Law School, did not address the funding freeze.
In recent remarks at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Obama had said he was concerned about the White House’s moves against universities.
“I don’t think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America, but that’s a specific policy. I’m more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech,” Obama said, according to a transcript of his remarks.
He had also called on universities not to give into what he framed as intimidation.
“If you are a university, you may have to figure out, are we in fact doing things right? Have we in fact violated our own values, our own code, violated the law in some fashion? If not and you’re just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, that’s why we got this big endowment,” Obama said, according to the transcript.
“We’ll stand up for what we believe in and we’ll pay our researchers for a while out of that endowment and we’ll give up the extra wing or the fancy gymnasium — that we can delay that for a couple of years because academic freedom might be a little more important,” he added.
Trump, on Tuesday morning, called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status after the university said it would not comply with the Trump administration’s series of demands.
“Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’ Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.
Harvard University is exempt from federal income tax because it is an educational institution. It is also exempt from Massachusetts state income tax, according to the university.
Asked during a press briefing on Tuesday how serious Trump is about his call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president has been “quite clear they must follow federal law.”
“He also wants to see Harvard apologize, and Harvard should apologize for the egregious antisemitism that took place on their college campus against Jewish American students,” she said.
Leavitt also claimed the university has not taken the administration’s demands seriously in response to a question on the funding freeze.
“All the president is asking don’t break federal law, and then you can have your federal funding,” she said.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Peter Charalambous, Selina Wang and Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — After a devastating missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy appeared to have killed dozens of civilians gathered for Palm Sunday celebrations, President Donald Trump downplayed the incident as a “mistake” — and lashed out with recriminations.
He continued to insist that the broader war was started by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and that President Joe Biden failed to stop it — rather than blaming Russian President for causing the conflict.
“The mistake was letting the war happen,” Trump said, when asked to clarify his initial comments at the White House on Monday.
“I’m not saying anybody’s an angel, but I will tell you, I went four years, and it wasn’t even a question,” he continued, asserting again that Putin wouldn’t have dared invade Ukraine when he was in power.
“It was the apple of his eye, but there was no way that he would have done it,” Trump said of Putin.
But as the months of Trump’s second term continue to pass, the president’s repeated claims that he has significant sway over Putin seem to be falling flat. His administration has so far failed to draw any meaningful concessions from the Kremlin as part of its efforts to end the war.
Trump, who has been faulted for failing to put any real pressure on Russia as he angles for a peace deal, again attacked Zelenskyy more harshly than Putin.
“You don’t start a war with someone 20 times your size and then hope people give you some missiles,” he said of the Ukrainian leader.
“You have millions of people dead, millions of people dead because of three people,” Trump went on. “Let’s say Putin number one. But let’s say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelensky. And all I can do is try and stop it.”
Zelenskyy responded to the comments during a Monday evening address, saying “Russian state propagandists are preparing their audience for the idea that diplomacy will not bring any results.”
“If there is not strong enough pressure on Russia, they will keep doing what they are used to — they will keep waging war,” he said.
While Trump did not seize on the Sumy attack as an opening to ramp up diplomatic pressure on Russia, other corners of his administration and some of his political allies were more outspoken in the aftermath.
Retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine, said the strike “crosses any line of decency.”
“There are scores of civilian dead and wounded. As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong,” he said in a post on X.
In his own social media post, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham called the attack “barbaric” and said it “seems to be Putin’s answer to efforts to achieve a ceasefire and peace.”
Graham also referenced proposed legislation aimed at imposing more economic penalties against Russia, saying it would be necessary “unless there is dramatic change soon.”
The attack on Sumy comes just ten days after a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city Kryvyi Rih killed 20 people, including nine children.
It also comes at an inauspicious time for the Trump administration, which deployed its top negotiator, U.S. Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, to hold his third round of face-to-face talks with Putin approximately 48 hours before the strike.
Video emerged of a smiling Witkoff holding his hand over his heart as he greeted Putin. The Kremlin praised the meeting as “extremely useful,” but has so far shown little interest in moving toward a broader settlement in Ukraine.
Last month, the White House announced that both Ukraine and Russia agreed to temporary limited ceasefires covering strikes on energy infrastructure and naval targets in the Black Sea.
Kyiv has accused Moscow of violating the energy deal several times however, and Russia has balked at fully committing to the Black Sea deal — saying the U.S. and its allies must meet a long list of conditions before it would.
While the Kremlin’s recent attacks on civilians in Ukraine might not push Trump to turn up the heat on Russia, there are signs that his frustration over the slow clip of the diplomatic process underway might be building.
“Russia has to get moving,” Trump said in a post to his Truth Social site on Friday ahead of Witkoff and Putin’s meeting.
At the White House on Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked whether Russia had agreed anything with Witkoff.
“What I can tell you is that they were — a productive conversation was had,” she said. “He believes that Russia wants to end this war, and the president believes that as well. There is incentive for Russia to end this war. And perhaps that could be economic partnerships with the United States. But we need to see a ceasefire first. And the president and the presidential envoy, Witkoff, made that very clear to the Russians.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Joe Biden will deliver one of his first public speeches since leaving office 85 days ago, expected to speak about safeguarding Social Security amid Republicans’ current threats to it at a conference in Chicago on Tuesday.
Biden re-enters the public stage after keeping a relatively low profile in the time since he left office. After he gives the keynote speech at the gathering of the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled, Biden will have been seen now a handful of times in recent weeks — emerging even while President Donald Trump continuously blames his predecessor for a range of issues.
Trump has blamed Biden for everything from rising egg prices (during his address to a joint session of Congress in March, claiming “Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control”) to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. Trump notably called Biden a “stupid president” during his contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in March and refers to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “Biden’s war.”
ACRD is billing Biden’s remarks as the first of his post-presidency, though the 82-year-old is known to have given remarks at two recent events, though less publicized. He spoke at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers event in Washington last week when he became an honorary member of the union. In March, he spoke at the Model United Nations conference in New York.
“We are deeply honored President Biden is making his first public appearance at ACRD’s sold-out conference,” said Rachel Buck, ACRD Executive Director. “As bipartisan leaders have long agreed, Americans who retire after paying into Social Security their whole lives deserve the vital support and caring services they receive. As a result, we are thrilled the President will be joining us to discuss how we can work together for a stable and successful future for Social Security.”
ACRD is convening its conference to bring together policymakers and advocates in a bipartisan effort to support Social Security, the organization claims, especially as operational and staffing issues caused by cuts by the current administration have impacted the older and disabled Americans who use Social Security income and insurance.
Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have slashed 7,000 Social Security Administration jobs over the past few months in their efforts to cut down the federal workforce as part of the new Department of Government Efficiency, moves that Democrats have vigorously rallied against.
Biden’s speech comes as Democratic congressional leaders are billing Tuesday as a ‘Day of Action’ focused on Social Security.
“Across the country, Democrats are leading the fight to oppose the Republican plan to gut Social Security. Our Save Social Security Day of Action will mobilize Americans from every corner of the United States to push back on Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE’s cuts to Social Security,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement.
“Republicans want to slash this critical lifeline by making it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to access their earned benefits. Shutting down local offices, firing large numbers of experienced constituent service workers and cutting phone services makes it harder for people to get their checks. Republicans are trying to kill Social Security from the inside — it is a cut by another name — and we won’t let that happen.”
Biden will be joined in Chicago by former Maryland Gov. and Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley and the organization’s co-chairs — former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and former Republican Sen. Roy Blunt.
